3,000 Miles
by livelovetwilight
Summary: Bella's parents were murdered 10 years ago, and their death still haunts her. Then she meets Edward...better than it sounds, read please!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: first author's note, YAY!! so this is my first ever fanfiction, so cut me some slack, ya dig? enjoy:)**

Chapter One; Nightmare

_I looked out my window to see that it was pitch black. The only light coming in my room was from the full moon outside my window. Downstairs, I could hear my mom and dad, who had come in a few minutes ago to tuck me in, talking quietly in the living room. I was just about to fall asleep when I heard the shattering of glass, followed by a bloodcurdling scream that came from my mother._

_I sat up, terrified, clutching onto my blanket my grandmother made me. I heard feet running up the wooden stairs, and saw my door fly open._

"_Isabella," my dad's frightened voice said softly. "Bells, sweetie, get under the bed, don't make a sound." I was confused but I did what I was told. _

_I saw my dad turn and hurry to the door, but he abruptly stopped when someone else entered the room. He had brown, muddy hiking boots. Next to the dirty boots were my mother's bare feet. _

"_You trying to run?" I heard a husky, low voice say. "Cops aren't supposed to run. You sure didn't run when you arrested me." _

_Who _was _this man? I thought to myself. And what did he want from my dad?_

_Just then, I heard a click, a gasp coming from both of my parents, two earsplitting booms, and a thud. I looked out in terror to see my mom and dad with blood pouring out of their heads on the floor, not breathing. _

"_NO!" I screamed, scurrying out from under my safe haven. I didn't get far until the man with the gun grabbed me by my collar. I shut my eyes tight, and screamed…_

"Bella, wake up! You're having a nightmare again." I slowly opened my eyes not to the gunman, but my foster mother, Liz.

"Same dream?" she asked.

"Of course," I whispered. I had been having the same nightmare every night since it happened ten years ago. I was 8 years old.

"I'm sorry I didn't wake you up sooner, I didn't hear you this time."

"It's fine,"

"It's almost six; I'll go make you some breakfast."

I nodded and she headed out of my room. My heart was still pounding out of control, and I tried to control the moisture coming from my eyes. I sat in bed for a few more moments, reminiscing my dream.

"Bella, breakfast is ready!" Liz shouted, pulling me out of my dreamlike state. I headed downstairs and sat on the wooden chair in the kitchen. Microwavable pancakes sat on the placemat in front of me. I began eating as Liz spoke again.

"So…graduation is this weekend."

"Yep,"

"You must be pretty excited."

"Definitely," I led. Secretly, I was dreading graduation. Knowing that my parents wouldn't be there to see their only daughter receive her diploma was pure torture.

"I still can't believe you're going all the way across the country! I mean, Virginia is almost 3,000 miles away. I'm gonna miss you, Bells."

"Roanoke College offered me a full scholarship. It's a good school, and I couldn't turn it down. I'm going to miss you too, a lot." This wasn't a lie. Liz was the closest thing I had to a mother for ten years. But I had to get far, far away from Forks. It held too many dreadful memories.

**A/N: well, there you have it, the first chapter. Sorry it's so short. All together now: WOOOOO! About the college choice: I live like, 20 minutes away from Roanoke College (which is actually in Salem…), so I know the surroundings, which makes it much easier to write about! So is it good? Awful? Should I stop writing all together? Reviews please! 3 reviews, good or bad, and I'll put up the second chapter.**

**-Kristin**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well, I don't think I got three reviews (sad, right?), but I'm posting the next chapter because I can! Thank you to all who put my story on alert and favorites, and whoever reviewed. I was sitting in photography checking my email on my iPod, and I was like, YAY! It made my day. I'll be in the car tomorrow for eight hours, so I'll write some more chapters. I promise it will get more interesting, just give me some time:)**

Chapter Two

Graduation

Before I was ready for it, graduation was staring me right in the face, laughing.

Liz was frantic, of course, running around the house making sure everything was in its correct spot for the small gathering we were having after the ceremony.

While Liz was resetting the table for about the fifth time, I debated on what to wear. Everything I tried on was either too short of too long, too loose or too tight. After about twenty minutes, Liz knocked on the door.

"Come in," I said, throwing a red blouse with a huge stain on the front on the floor.

"Having trouble?" she asked. I nodded.

She left my room only to reappear with a silky blue blouse with a black belt around the middle.

"Here," she said, handing it to me. "Try it on." I hurriedly put it on and checked my reflection in the mirror. It was perfect.

"It's gorgeous, is it yours?" I asked.

"Yeah, I've only worn it once, and it looks so much better on you. Consider it a graduation present," she smiled.

"Thank you, so much," I told her, giving her a quick hug.

"Your parents would have been so proud of you, Bells," she whispered.

I turned away from her, feeling my eyes start to burn with the mentioning of my parents.

After Liz curled my hair and did my makeup, we were on our way to Forks High School. When we got there, parents went in the front entrance and the teachers tried to herd all the seniors into the back entrance of the gym.

"Bella!" I heard Jessica Stanley call, waving her hand frantically at me, trying to get my attention. I walked over to her and put the ugly green and gold graduation gown, which had been slung across my shoulder, over my clothes and stick the equally ugly cap on my head.

"Aren't you just so excited?" she gushed. A smile seemed to be tattooed on her round face. "It feels like we just started high school! I'm so glad I got to know you, Bells." She went on and on about how great high school had been, but I wasn't paying attention anymore. Instead I searched the auditorium for the two people I wanted most to be here, but I knew they weren't going to be. But I kept watching for them for some reason, intent that my parent's murder was just an ongoing, awful nightmare.

"Bella?" Jessica snapped me out of my daze. "It's time to sit now," she told me, looking at me like I had lost my mind. I followed behind her and sat in the seat with a sticky note with my name on it.

Once everyone was seated and somewhat quiet, the valedictorian went on and on about how "this end is just a new beginning" and a bunch of other things I didn't listen to.

"Isabella Marie Swan," I snapped my head up to realize that I was my turn to walk across the stage. How did I miss everyone getting their diploma? I hurried up the stairs; my face flushed with embarrassment, walked to the podium to get my diploma, and shook hands with my principal.

"Congratulations, Bella," he said. I walked back to my seat and looked around again. Proud parents, grandparents, and siblings were applauding for their family member. I wanted so desperately for my parents to be here.

"Congratulations to Fork's class of 2008!" the valedictorian shouted gleefully into the microphone, tossing her cap into the air. The rest of us did the same.

"We did it, Bella!" Jessica shouted over the thunderous voices of students, hugging me.

"Bella!" I looked over to see Liz running towards me, dodging jubilant parents and students scattered around the auditorium. I put on a fake smile.

"Congratulations, sweetie," she said, also hugging me. When she finally broke the embrace, I saw tears falling out of her eyes.

"Let's go get ready; everyone will be at the house in about an hour." I suggested, trying to lighten the mood.

This party was going to be hell.

**This was one of my longer chapters, hope it was okay! I'll be in New Jersey until Sunday, and I won't be able to update until then. Reviews make me SUPER happy!**

**-Kristin**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry it took me kind of a while to update. To be honest, I'm not even sure if I'm going to continue this story. I have about 5 people who are following it…and yeah. I guess what I'm saying is I don't know if I'm good at writing. No one has really read any of my work besides like, essays and stuff. I need some encouragement, you know? I don't care if you say my writing is bad, just give me some feedback. More reviews=quicker chapters! Oh, and my chapters are going to get longer, and you'll get more info on Bella's parents later on.**

Chapter Three: Party, New Beginnings

The doorbell rang as I was changing out of my black skirt into jeans. I groaned, definitely not looking forward to this party.

I headed downstairs and opened the door to Jessica, Angela, Ben, Mike, and all of their parents. They all greeted me as I plastered a fake smile on my face and let them inside. Everyone spread out around the house, some going to look at pictures of the mantle, others to the kitchen to eat. However, Angela stayed behind with me by the door.

"When are you leaving for Virginia?" she asked casually.

"In about three weeks,"

"So soon?"

"The sooner the better, I guess. I'm hoping moving far away from Forks will help me forget…" I didn't finish, Angela knew what I was talking about. She was the only person I ever talked to about my parent's death.

"Hopefully it will. I'm going to miss you Bella." I wondered how many people were going to say that tonight.

"I'll miss you too, Angela. I promise I'll call you though." I said, forcing a weak smile.

The rest of the night went slowly, incredibly slowly. After enduring about three hours of everyone asking me "when I was leaving", and "why I was going to _Virginia_ for college", everyone, thankfully, went home.

After taking a shower and saying goodnight to Liz, I crawled into bed, exhausted.

I thought about my loving foster mother, who stayed with me when no one else did, and my other close friends. Leaving them three thousand miles away was going to kill me inside, but I had to somehow get over my parent's death just a little. In Virginia, the loss would haunt me no longer.

Three weeks passed by quickly, and on the first Friday of July, I was in the airport with Liz and Angela.

"Be sure to call me when you get in." Liz reminded me for about the fiftieth time. I nodded.

"Flight 156 now boarding, flight 156 now boarding," I heard over the intercom.

"Call me too," Angela told me, giving me a hug. I gave Liz a big hug too, when I let go, I could see both of them crying.

"Thank you for taking me in," I told Liz, tears escaping from my eyelids also.

"Of course, sweetie,"

I grabbed my two suitcases and headed toward the terminal, only turning once to wave at Angela and Liz.

Walking into the plane, I checked my ticket oncemore. _Great…_ I thought as I saw where my seat was: right next to a fat Italian man eating a hamburger.

"Excuse me," I said as I tried to squeeze between him and the row in front of me. I sat by the window and put my headphones in, not bothering to hear the flight attendants going over the safety procedures. My stomach dropped as the plane lifted off, and I saw Liz and Angela in the window, watching. I didn't realize I was crying until the plump man next to me poked me in the side. I paused my iPod and looked over at him, seeing what he wanted.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Um…nothing, why?"

"You're crying,"

"Oh, yeah, I'm just going to miss my friends in Forks, I guess." I said quietly, wiping my eyes.

"Are you moving or something?" Why did this man keep talking to me?

"No, I'm going to college over in Roanoke."

"Really? My daughter goes to school over there. Are you going to Roanoke College?" I nodded. "Her name is Lauren, Lauren Mallory. It's a small college, you should meet her somehow."

"Cool," I said blatantly, not wanting to further the conversation. I pressed play and let Debussy fill my ears, drowning out the sound of everything else.

But when loud snoring coming from the left of me started interrupting my music, I became bluntly annoyed. I turned the volume up as loud as it would go and closed my eyes. I didn't know if I could handle this for four more hours.

"Hey, girl, wake up! We're in Virginia." I heard an annoying voice say. I blinked sleepily and looked out the small square window of the plane. The sun was setting; it was about five o'clock.

I took my earphones out and began to gather my things as people filed out. I felt a small pang of jealousy when I saw other passengers hugging the ones waiting for them. I didn't have anyone waiting for me.

I clutched the small silver cell phone out of my pocket and dialed Liz's number. After the first ring she answered.  
"Hi Bella! How was your flight?"

"Alright, I guess. I slept pretty much the whole time."

"Okay well, I called my friend's son who lives in Roanoke to come pick you up. His name is Edward."

"How do I know which one he is?" I asked. At that moment, I saw a bronze haired god with green eyes, he was beautiful.

"He'll be holding a sign," Liz exclaimed. I looked farther down from the man's face to see a sign that said 'Isabella Swan'.

"Alright I see him, Liz. I'd better go."

"Okay Bella, call me later tonight. I miss you already."

"Miss you too Liz," I sighed and hung up.

While I was walking over to the stunning god, I could feel my face getting red. I was nervous.

"I'm Bella," I said quietly to him when I got to him.

"Hey, I'm Edward Cullen," he said with a crooked smile. I almost passed out. "May I take one of your bags?"

"Oh, yeah," I said stupidly, handing him one of my suitcases. We walked out of the airport in a comfortable silence until we got to his car. We put my luggage in the trunk and opened the door for me. I slid into the passenger side and watched him as he walked over to the driver's seat. He was perfect. His bright green eyes met mine as I was staring and I looked away quickly, feeling the blood rush up to my cheeks.

"We should get to the college in about thirty minutes," he told me.

"Okay," I said smiling, trying not to look like an idiot.

I forced my eyes away from Edward and looked out the window. The sun was setting, making the sky a gorgeous pink. Around us there were mountains everywhere, like a barrier.

I was definitely not in Forks anymore.

**A/N: See? Longer, right? YAY! EDWARD IS HERE! All together now….woo! Again, sorry it took kind of a while to update. I had lacrosse and basketball all week :(. Thank you to everyone who put this story on their favorites, reviewed, or put me on their alerts. It made me smile! Review and I'll update SO much faster!**

**-Kristin**


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry guys, not an update.

From the lack of response from this story, and for a lot of other reasons, I'm taking it off fanfiction. It'll be back up in the summer though.

I know, I know, I hate it too when you're reading something and then the author abruptly stops, saying they're too busy to continue. But I really am busy…And my laptop is broken, leaving me to use my brother's computer, which is slow as hell.

I'm writing another story called Inevitable; I'm going to finish writing it in my notebook before I put it on here, but I think you all will like it.

I'm sorry to the few of you who were actually following this story, I really am. Keep my on author alert though!

I'm so so so so so so so so SORRY:(

See you guys in the summer!

-Kristin


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys…I'm baack! It's been almost two years…geez. Sorry to the people who were actually reading this, I really hated putting this on hold but I've just had some extra time and I figured I would start this again! Of course, reviews are awesome, and they make me write more. Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoy the rest of this story!**

"So, Bella, tell me about yourself."

"Well…what do you want to know?"

"Everything," Edward said, still looking straight ahead, smirking.

"Hmm…there's not much to know about me. I lived in Phoenix for a few years before I moved to Washington. I didn't play any sports…I'm way too clumsy," I told him, blushing.

"What about your parents?"

Crap.

My breathing sped up, and I really had no idea what to tell him. In Forks, everyone had known what happened to my parents. I never had to explain. What do I say?

"They, um, died ten years ago."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Bella," he apologized sincerely, giving me a sympathetic look.

"It's fine," I said, trying to shake it off as best as I could. I could tell he was curious and he wanted to know more, but I just couldn't talk about it right now. The last thing I wanted to be doing my first night in Virginia was to be crying about my dead parents to some guy I had met forty-five minutes ago. "What about you? Tell me about yourself."

"Just turned nineteen. Lived in Charlottesville my whole life. Got a scholarship to Roanoke for soccer. It's my second year here."

"Soccer, huh? Are you liking it here?"

"Definitely," he nodded. "It's a great school. The professors are awesome, and I have a lot of friends. You're gonna love it."

_I sure hope so…_

Soon enough, we had arrived to the college. This was the first time I had seen it, and it was definitely love at first sight. The school was smack dab in the middle of a quaint downtown area, with lots of cute, aged houses. The brick buildings gave the college a homey feelings; not intimidating like most of the colleges in Washington.

"Welcome home, Bella," Edward said, parking his car outside the main building. "We just have to get your schedule and stuff, and then I'll show you to your dorm."

I followed him up the brick sidewalk, into the double doors, leading into the open lobby. We walked up to the counter, where a middle-aged blond woman was sitting.

"May I help you?" she asked, pushing her dark rimmed glasses up her nose.

"My name is Isabella Swan; I need my schedule and dorm key."

She nodded, turning towards her computer. With a few clicks of the keyboard on her laptop, my schedule was printed, and she left the room for a moment to get my key.

"You'll be staying in Bartlett Hall, second floor. I'm sure Edward would be happy to show you the way," she said, nodding towards Edward.

"Yes ma'am, of course," he smiled at her and started walking out towards to door. I followed quickly behind.

"Thank you!"

Edward and I hopped back in the car, and slowly drove back to my new dorm. I was sure to take in all my surroundings, for the times that I wouldn't have anyone to show me around. Looking at my schedule, I realized that I had several classes in a large, white bricked building we passed. I made a mental note to remember where this building was.

"Here we are!" Edward exclaimed, pulling into a nearby parking place. The building was old; probably built sometime in the 50's, but it looked pretty nice to me. I grabbed a few of my bags from the trunk, as did Edward, and we walked into the building.

To my left, there was a lounge, with three girls sitting around on a couch watching Criminal Minds. Straight ahead, there was a flight of stairs. We hurried up, wanting to get the unpacking done as soon as possible.

"215…" Edward said, looking at each door he passed. "Ah, here were go."

I took the key out of my pocket and stuck it in the keyhole, opening the door to my new life for the next four years.

"Home sweet home," I said sarcastically, taking in my surrounding. The dorm was definitely nothing special; the best part about it was the carpet. The walls were white and personally, I thought it looked like a jail. Two small beds were to my left, along with two desks right across from them. The room was…depressing, to say the least. Hopefully I could fix it up just a little bit.

"This is…nice," Edward said, snickering. I shot him a quick glare, and he put his hands up in defeat. He set my bags down on the small bed, and I did the same. "So, what bed is gonna be your's?"

"This one," I said, pointing to the bed closet to me. I wanted to be able to get out fast…if necessary. And thanks to Liz calling the dorm advisors; I wouldn't be having a roommate. Lucky them.

"Well, well, well, let's get unpacking!"

I sighed heavily, not looking forward to the hours ahead of unpacking and decorating. However, I was looking forward to spending an hour or two with one of the most gorgeous man I had ever laid eyes on…

**A/N: Well…that's all for now! I hope you liked it. Sorry if my writing was a little rusty, haha. PLEEEASE review, I really want to know what yall think!**

**-Kristin**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Just a quick update. I don't have any homework so I figured I would post before I went to work! Enjoy you guys!**

Four hours and three suitcases later I was all unpacked, and absolutely exhausted. I feel to the bed, sighing.

"Hungry?" Edward asked, sitting down on the foot of the bed.

"Starving," I told him, clutching my stomach.

"Let's go," he smiled, grabbing my hang and pulling me along with him out the door. I grabbed the key off my desk and went after him.

"Where are we going? It's almost 11…"

"I know a place," he said, a sly smile on his face. I shrugged, following him. Back in Forks, I would have never done this; go out with a guy I had met just a few hours earlier at eleven at night…

But I made a promise to myself; this was my new life.

"What do you think?" Edward asked as we stepped out of the car. We were just about five minutes away from the college, outside a small, old, of course brick, building. The name was barely visible in green paint on the side of the building, fading tremendously over the years.

"It's…nice?"

Edward laughed. "Well, it's pretty much the best option we have at eleven on a Tuesday night."

"You're right."

We walked inside, being met by a bored-looking, young girl in her teens at the podium up front.

"Two?" she asked, grabbing menus. We followed her through the empty restaurant. It was definitely bigger than it looked outside. She sat us down in a booth in the corner, and told us that our server would be out in a minute.

"Great, huh? This place has been the pride of Salem for fifty years…" Edward smirked.

"Oh, it's fascinating," I retorted, joking along with him.

A few minutes later, our waitress came over to our table. She was about forty or so, with blond hair. She grabbed the pen she had stuck behind her ear and asked us what we wanted to order.

"We'll both have a burger," Edward said before I could open my mouth. I raised my eyebrow questioningly at him.

"What? You have to have a burger. They have the best."

Dinner passed quickly, and Edward was right; the burger was absolutely delicious. I finished it in about five bites, with room to spare for my fries. We paid the bill, and walked back out into the warm August air. It was a nice warm; not blistering hot like it had felt during the day. Edward and I drove back to the college in a comfortable silence, probably too full to say anything.

Edward swung back into the parking place, opened my door for me, and led me back to my dorm.

"No boys allowed," he joked as we arrived at the front door.

"Right, and I wouldn't want to be breaking any rules my first night here…" That was a complete lie.

"I'll see you soon, okay? Oh, and let me see your phone," I handed him my phone and he programmed his number in. My heart skipped a beat; he wanted to see me again. I couldn't help the huge, goofy grin that appeared on my face.

"See you soon."

_Where do you think you're going?" the man said. I screamed and attempted to run past him._

_ Bad decision._

_ "SHUT UP," he screamed at me, throwing me down on my bed and clamping his hand hard over my mouth. I kicked and wiggled around as hard as I could, but there was no getting away from his strong grip over my mouth and chest._

_ "Now I'm going to give you another chance," he whispered in my ear. His voice sent shivers down my spine. I was frozen. His breath smelled like alcohol and cigarettes. "I'm going to take my hand off your mouth, but I swear to God, if you scream…" he put the gun against my head suggestively. I nodded, tears streaming down my face, and he slowly took his hand back. He sat me up on my bed, and then paced back and forth._

_ "Why are you here?" I asked quietly, my voice breaking._

_ "Because, little girl, I hate your dad."_

_ "But why?" My daddy was my favorite person, how could anybody possibly hate him?_

_ "STOP ASKING QUESTIONS!" he yelled, glaring at me. I shut up instantly. _

_ He paced for several more moments, running his fingers through his dark, greasy hair. He looked worried, confused. I was terrified._

_ Just then, the phone downstairs rang. The man looked at me. If looks could kill, I would surely be dead right now. _

_ "Who is that? It's four in the morning," I shrugged, afraid to speak. "Go answer it."_

_ I stood, and he grabbed my collar as we walked down the stairs. "Hurry up. You better not say anything to them about this."_

_ I took a deep breath and picked up the phone. "Hello?"_

_ "Bella? Is that you?" It was Kevin, my dad's partner at the police station. _

_ "Yes," I said quietly. I looked over at the man, who was eyeing me down. Then I realized something…he didn't have his gun. He must've left it upstairs in my room!_

_ "What are you doing up Bells? Where's your dad?"_

_ Do I run away? Oh my God what do I do?_

_ "Kevin…" I dropped the phone lightly on the counter, screaming and running as fast as I could out the door. _

_ "Bella, BELLA!" I heard Kevin yelling in the phone. I kept running. Running running running. Runing like I had never ran before. I slung the front door open, running out. I could hear the man a few steps behind me. My heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to jump right out my chest._

_ "GET BACK HERE," he screamed. I kept running. Left, right, left, right. Don't trip. Don't slow down. Don't die. _

_ I was almost in the woods behind my house when I fell. _

_ Oh no…_

_ The man took no time at all grabbing me by my arm and clamping his hand over my mouth. I kicked and screamed, wondering why no one was outside helping me. I could tell the man was absoutely infuriated._

_ I was going to die._

I was awoken to the sound of loud knocks on my door.

_Shit._

I rolled out of bed, sheets on the floor and my tank top sticking to my sweaty back. I opened my door to a college student with short, black hair and a worried look on her face.

"Oh my gosh are you okay!" she asked, her eyes wide.

I blushed, putting my hand on my forehead. "Was I screaming?"

"Um, yeah! Screaming bloody murder! What's going on!"

"I'm so sorry…I have nightmares a lot," I gave her a sympathetic look, my face getting redder and redder every second.

"Are you alright?" she asked, true concern in her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."

"I'm Alice, by the way," she said, smiling.

"Bella," I told her.

"Well, I better get back to bed…I have to work in the morning. I'll see you later, neighbor?"

"Sure thing, sorry for waking you."

"It's not problem!" she said, waving as she walked back in her dorm next door.

Well, that's a way to make friends the first day.

**A/N: That's all for now! Don't get used to getting updates **_**that**_** soon all the time…I just had an open day. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review. I have no idea if you guys like this or not and it's driving me crazy! Thanks!**

**-Kristin**


End file.
